Mariners add veteran right-handed reliever to mix

Veteran reliever Jesus Colome, who pitched last season with the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a minor-league contract with the Mariners and will be invited to the team’s major-league camp next week.

Jesus Colome

Colome, 32, has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past nine seasons with a 19-26 record and 4.66 ERA in 328 relief appearances.

The hard-throwing right-hander from the Dominican Republic had a pretty good run with the Nationals from 2007-08, going 7-3 with a 4.07 ERA and a .246 batting average against in 62 innings.

He appeared in 16 games with the Nats last season and was 1-1 with an 8.40 ERA before being released on July 10. He signed with Milwaukee as a minor-league free agent and appeared in five games with a 5.68 ERA for the Brewers’ big-league club.

Colome originally signed with Oakland as a non-drafted free agent on Sept. 29, 1996 and made his Major League debut with Tampa Bay in 2001.

With the Mariners, he’ll add potential depth to the right-handed relief corp that currently includes Shawn Kelley, Brandon League, Sean White, Mark Lowe and closer David Aardsma.

Mariners’ pitchers and catchers report to camp in Peoria, Ariz., next Wednesday.